This is an interesting turn of events. The other day we reported that the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel, formerly The Yankee Clipper, would stop being a Sheraton on December 1 but there was no clue as to who or what brand would go in its place. Now, we have an answer. A tipster tells us that the hotel will be a B Hotel. And indeed, it's been confirmed on the B Hotels website with an opening date of December 1.

No doubt all the B programming will be installed in their FLL spot, including mood lighting, free WiFi and variety of amenities and services that all start with B. Hopefully they will let the Yankee Clipper's Wreck Bar and the Dos Caminos restaurant just "b."

Not long after Starwood Hotels dissolved its management of the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Fla. (the hotel is now known as The Diplomat and it's part of Hilton's Curio Collection), comes another big brand loss in nearby Fort Lauderdale.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that The Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel, remembered by most as the Yankee Clipper Hotel, will cease to be a Sheraton on December 2, 2014. However, no one knows yet what sort of brand, if any, will take over the cruise-ship inspired building which is also home to the Wreck Bar and Dos Caminos restaurant.

Interestingly, the building was sold in 2005 to the Starwood Capital Group, which is actually hotelier Barry Sternlicht's company and not Starwood Hotels'. So could this turn into a 1 Hotel or a Baccarat Hotel? Highly unlikely, as the building is rumored to be for sale, but we're dying to find out what will end up happening.

We told you earlier this year that the saga of the ill-fated Trump Fort Lauderdale would have a happy ending by summer 2015, opening as the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Beach Residences. A $30 million-plus investment would erase any signs of half a decade of vacancy and neglect, the result of which we can show you a few renderings of now.

Above the driveway and entrance to the 290-room hotel, with an interesting lattice wood-like sculpture above what looks like a water feature. All accommodations are either studios or suites and come with full kitchenettes.

The Mermaid Wedding package offers love-dovey couples the opportunity to say their "I Do's" under water with an "actual" mermaid while up to 50 of their closest friends watch from the dry deck of The Wreck Bar, the hotel's nautical-themed bar. (See a photo of a vow-renewal here.) From portholes and picture windows, your guests have a view under the surface of the hotel pool for the bride and groom's 10-minute ceremony. Something tells us there wont be a dry eye in the house.

Once the happy couple dries off, a 90-minute reception in the bar for toasts and mingling with your guests. The package includes a choreography session prior to the ceremony so neither the bride or groom look like a dead fish and mermaid tails will be on offer for photo-ops.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, the 290-roomproperty will be a condo-hotel with different residential layouts which will be rented to guests when the owners are not staying in them. Prices for the units will start at $450,000.

But since the building was left unoccupied for so long, it will now require some loving care to get it up to Conrad Hotels luxury standards. Word is the property will get about $34 million in enhancements that will also include a fitness center, a Conrad Spa, a swimming pool and an oceanfront restaurant. It will open in 2015. Better late than never at all.

Despite the fact that the new wind turbines being installed on the roof of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort will produce a very small percentage of the hotel's power, Randy Gaines, Hilton's VP of Engineering, Housekeeping and Laundry Operations, thinks it's a huge step in the right direction.

“The turbines will help us visualize the hotel as a place to be conscious of energy use,” Gaines told the South Florida Business Journal. “It’s not going to be a big percentage of the hotel power, but it will help to highlight the importance of conserving electricity, and to start dialogue.”

The symbolism of the six turbines is definitely a welcome sight for the hotel industry, a move that speaks volumes in terms of Hilton's determination to be environmentally friendly. Considering the appearance of the turbines has always been a source of conflict when it comes to wind energy, the fact that Hilton is putting them on its roof sends a strong message. Not to be overly dramatic, but it shows the industry is capable of making decisions based on something a little less shallow.

The weekend is upon us and all we can think of is having a Calgon moment. A soothing, it’ll-be-all right session seems about due, and we’re certain you can use one as well. The stars must be in alignment because we received a great mix of spa news this week, so we’ve gotta share. Chances are, some of you need a good old massage, and the spa gurus are searching for the new treatment du jour. And because it’s summertime, that means kids are hopped up on ice cream, candy and the like, so they need to calm the heck down, too. Just thinking about these treatments are already calming our nerves.

Kid Friendly

The new Chillax Lounge at Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Lodge is tailor-made for the hyperactive whippersnapper set. Kids come in fresh from a day at the pool or on the mountains, wrap a plush robe around their clothes, and hop into a cozy Pier One-style papasan chair drapped with a covered massage pad (the kind you can get at the Sharper Image). After they get over pressing the buttons and settling into the right vibrations—the relaxing and pampering begins with a chocolate face mask, cucumber slices for the eyes, and well a soothing scalp massage. The room looks right out into the mountains, so the view is incredible and the destimulation begins. What’s amazing is, according to Stowe's spa director, this service is booked more by preteen boys than girls! Apparently the guys are better at kicking back, enjoying the silence, and decompressing for a while, while girls tend to turn into chatty Cathy’s after a few minutes. Hmm, go figure.

No hot SoFla hotel is complete without a sleek salon doling out sleek tresses, so it was inevitable that the W Fort Lauderdale would join the blowout set. And it comes with serious A-list cred, as the beachfront property is the proud new location of a Ted Gibson Salon.

For anyone who doesn't know, Gibson is the kind of hairstylist who's always in demand at events like last night's Golden Globes. You may have also seen him work his magic on What Not to Wear.

The Fort Lauderdale hotel will offer a new spin on the moonlit soirees by giving it a '70s theme on its July 15 event from 7 to 10 p.m. An extra incentive to go, aside from the fact that you can break out those bell bottoms again, is that it's free.

If you're panicking because Father's Day is this weekend and you still haven't picked up a gift for dad, there's still time to show him that you care. Whether you want to treat him to a cooking class—or not so subtly show him there's more to food than TV dinners—or send him flying down a zip line, these hotels offer the perfect gift for dear old dad.

The Fort Lauderdale hotel scene got its latest pop with the opening of B Ocean recently, but one other much-hyped opening--one that that crashed and burned--is still casting an empty shadow on the beach. We're talking about the ill-fated Trump Fort Lauderdale--which is no longer a Trump, and no longer much of anything, really...

When we last checked in on the project, we were hoping that someone else would scoop up the beachfront property, maybe in time for Christmas 2011. Yeah, well, thanks for nothing, Santa.

The other night we finally got to experience the new B Hotels and Resorts brand at their first (and only) hotel, The B Ocean Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

We nabbed a rate of $169, thanks to a special promo on Jetsetter.com and even before arriving, we were already comparing this place to the W Fort Lauderdale down the road.

Don't worry, W, your standing as the Prom King of boutique hotels is not in any jeopardy at all. But B Ocean definitely surprised us with their rooms and amenities. We just hope that future B Hotels open in more exciting places than Fort Lauderdale.